Micro Documentary “Prevention on the Web” for School Children in the City of El Alto (Bolivia)—A Proposal for Its Improvement

Abstract

The reality of children in their use of the Internet does not differ, in general terms, from one country to another, except in relation to countries with high rates of extreme poverty. The phenomena that occur from contents that broadcast “influencers” in social media have a global reach.

In this paper we will analyze facts around a case with serious repercussions in May 2017 in several countries, the game called “The Blue Whale”, which caused physical and psychological damage in children. This phenomenon came to Bolivia through social media and, in view of the consequences, preventive measures were adopted in the framework of the social marketing for the quality of life.

In the city of El Alto, the Secretary of Citizen Security of the Municipal Government of El Alto developed an initiative in response to this phenomenon, which resulted in the production of a micro documentary.

This chapter includes a proposal for the improvement of this initiative, based on the consideration that when facing social phenomena that negatively affect the well-being of the community, scientific data and information are required to contribute to this purpose.

Teaching Notes

• 1. How necessary is it to be able to prevent only children from the risks in the use of the Internet and social media versus being able to intervene by facilitating the modification of their raw realities?

  Without a doubt, prevention is important, but Social Marketing for Quality of Life projects allow for the modification of thoughts and actions of the collective imagination in search of the common good and contributing to the quality of life of people, therefore, one of these projects would result in an objective and positive interference.

• 2. How can a Social Marketing for Quality of Life project address these types of problems?

  For games like the Blue Whale that are harmful and require that they be addressed from government, family, educational and social environments of children. Therefore, the project should identify the social and political environments and structures that facilitate generating changes and acting on them; the use of ICT would be of great benefit.

• 3. What kind of care should parents have when regulating the use of the internet and social media of their children in relation to the risks and damage to contribute to changing these realities?

  The use of internet and social media by children has risks and benefits, parents should not prohibit them but inform themselves and their children, monitoring their activities and using parental control passwords could contribute to the creation of appropriate use spaces that do not take priority away from their children’s offline activities.

• 4. What is the role of educators in the prevention and action against risks and damage from Internet use in schools?

  There is a need for digital literacy for parents and educators that allows for the differentiation between information and misinformation (which is often alarmist). Educators should specifically identify perpetrators and victims through testing and psychological support, educating about the benefits, risks and harm to their students online.

• 5. What is the role of public authorities in contributing to the creation of safe and appropriate spaces for children?

  Public authorities should be able to develop and finance projects related to citizen security (for example, GAMEA), legislate and regulate online spaces, seeking to guarantee the privacy and digital well-being of users.